The "Bible" for understanding all Western thought.

A reference staple ever since its first edition, this work covers over 25 centuries of history littered with debates and controversies about how best our societies should be organized. It explores the march of political ideas in the light of the major social, economic, and cultural changes that have marked Western civilizations. Blending long-view historical analysis with studies of conflicts, revolutions, and social struggles, it offers a remarkable synthesis of the "great transformation" that saw the birth of the ideas behind democratic modernity, all while refusing to succumb to nostalgia for a glorious past.